BRITTANY BROSKI DIVES INTO NICHE INTERESTS WITH OHIO UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
BY LAUREN STIDHAM PHOTO BY PROVIDED
In 2019, a viral kombucha video put Brittany Broski on the map. Since then, she has gained a massive following and created various platforms for herself on different social media sites, the most popular being her podcast, “The Broski Report.”
Broski’s witty humor and authentic persona have made her a standout figure in pop culture, and it has created a strong sense of community within her fan base. Last Thursday, Ohio University's campus saw this community first-hand, when she sold out her show at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
The show delivered a mix of banter, advice, and even discussion of classical literature and art. This combination is commonly the forefront of Broski’s podcast topics, and it is this balance of stimulating subjects and conversational dialogues that attracts such a cult following.
Broski shared bits of her personal college experiences, advising audience members to stray from too many “pickle shots” and sharing how she navigated college friendships and relationships. Broski, unlike many other influencers and celebrities, had a childhood absent of fame, earning a degree and working a normal job before her claim to fame.
She recognized her detachment from the LA influencers who populate Tik Tok and make up a majority of Generation Z’s interests. Broski’s loyalty to a strict circle of friends, Caleb Heron, Trixie Mattel, and Drew Aufaulo, and disinterest with influencer controversies, has created her niche fanbase in the fringes of social media.
Broski dove deeper into her feelings toward social media as a consumer. She recognized the consumerist micro trends taking over the internet and the exhausting task of feeling the need to keep up. She connected with the crowd as an internet user, describing her past feelings of comparison and journey of self-love.
Broski considered the role of fashion in her time in the public eye, addressing the lack of inclusivity of brands and shortcomings of designers in this endeavor.
Expanding beyond personal anecdotes, she shared pieces of art and literature that have impacted her. She noted her experience seeing the Sistine Chapel ceiling in real life and the dedication to the piece. She has dove deeper into her admiration for art history on her podcast, and has made this an educational segment outside of her pop culture discussions.
On “The Broski Report” she has also introduced her recent interest in classic literature, noting her recent reads such as “1984,” “Fahrenheit 451,” and “Animal Farm.” She continued this conversation at her Ohio Live show, discussing her appreciation for Orwellian literature and encouraging the audience to dive into the classics.
Outside of the acclaimed literature Broski has read recently, she discussed her love for fantasy novels, noting books such as the “Red Rising” series. She also dove deeper into literature she has produced, revealing to the audience three additional Wattpad fanfictions she has written, involving Damon Salvatore, Robert Downey Jr., and Harry Styles.
Alongside her podcast series, Broski has a YouTube series where she hosts “Royal Court” This series features various celebrities, which Broski interviews to determine if they will be members of her imagined court.
In one of these “Royal Court” interviews, Broski met with Cole Sprouse, sharing an excerpt from the fanfiction she wrote about him, his character being a Gulf War veteran and her character starring as his military wife.
It is Broski’s niche hobbies and interests in early social media sites such as Wattpad and Tumblr, that have connected her and her audience and made her such a relatable figure in the media. Her unapologetic confessions of her awkward teen-self, and beginnings as a theatre kid, have made her seem less like a social media figure, and more like a friend to her near 1 million subscribers on YouTube.
Her audience at OU saw the same authenticity and transparency seen on her other social media outlets. Broski has become an inspiration for a diverse group of people and a place for all to feel appreciated on the internet.
